Kōrai Hoshiumi
is a second year wing spiker at Kamomedai High. Appearance Hoshiumi is quite short in height but has a relatively strong build. He has very large, wide eyes and spiky, rough, light-coloured hair. His eyebrows, however, are dark-coloured and thick. Personality In games, Hoshiumi is calm and collected, but he's actually an enthusiastic, loud, and proud person who claims that his abilities have always left other people in shock. He is quick to become irritated especially when people fail to show him an impressed look or when they comment about his short stature. Hoshiumi has known about his weakness and the physical limitations of being short since the second grade. Although he initially cried over the unfairness of his height, he eventually accepted it following an advice from his mother and started honing various skills to become the better player regardless of height. Background Not much is known about his background. Since he was invited to the All-Japan Youth Intensive Training Camp, he should be an excellent player. Plot Tokyo Nationals Arc Preparation for Nationals Hoshiumi is one of the players invited to the All-Japan Youth Intensive Training CampChapter 210. Kageyama quickly takes notice of him due to his obvious short height compared to the other players. During the first practice match, he's able to block Kageyama, surprising the latterChapter 214. The players hold another practice match the next day. Hoshiumi shows off his unique approach run, where he concentrates his momentum into the ball of his feet before jumping. This allows him to jump to an extraordinary height and spike above the blockers. However, he notices that Kageyama doesn't seem to be surprised by the height he jumps. After the match, Hoshiumi approaches Kageyama to asks if the first year had seen him play before. When Kageyama denies it, Hoshiumi asks vehemently why the setter didn't seem impressed by his abilities. Kageyama admits that he did notice the height, but he wasn't too affected by it, annoying Hoshiumi. Later, Hoshiumi is seen playing as a setter in a game where the players shuffle their positions around. Hoshiumi demonstrates his capability as a setter with skills that impress both the coaches and fellow players in the training camp. However, he gets quickly annoyed when he sees Sakusa doubting his toss.Chapter 219 He is last seen giving Kageyama an annoyed look, possibly due to Kageyama's earlier comments, before leaving the training camp. Nationals Hoshiumi shows up on the first day of the Spring Interhigh Tournament. Before his team's match, he goes to the souvenir shop to purchase a t-shirt with a willpower quote and coincidentally runs into Hinata and Yamaguchi. He and Hinata naturally starts a staring contest until Kageyama greets him. He greets Kageyama back before asking whether Hinata and Yamaguchi are Kageyama's teammates. Then Hoshiumi approaches Hinata to question him about his position, height, and vertical reach. Although Hoshiumi seems iritated once he hears that Hinata is a middle blocker, he is ultimately satisfied when he realizes that his vertical reach is higher than Hinata's. Soon, their conversation is interrupted when Hoshiumi's teammate comes to get him. During his match, Hoshiumi proves himself as the star of the court by showing off his all-rounder abilities in spiking, blocking, receiving and serving. He is such a force to be reckon with that the commentators label him the "Little Giant". After the match, he is approached by a reporter who congratulates him on his performance. When the reporters questions him about how he feels being shorter than most of the players, Hoshiumi becomes enraged and expresses his dislike of being noticed only for his height. He feels that everybody put way too much emphasis on height and proclaims "being short in volleyball may very well be a disadvantage, but it does not automatically imply incompetence or ineptitude." Before he can continue further, his teammates stops him and forces him to apologize to the reporter for being rude. Afterwards, Hoshiumi sees Hinata observing him with a wistful smile and becomes annoyed. It is revealed that Hoshiumi is pissed that both Hinata and Kageyama failed to give him a impressed look at his performance. On the second day, Hoshiumi and his teammate are seen observing the match between Inarizaki and Karasuno. He is seemingly pissed off after witnessing the high-calibre play from Inarizaki, but is stunned and loses his composure once he sees Karasuno's First Year Combo's minus-tempo broad attack. He continues to observe the match, and particularly pays attention to Hinata. He is taken aback by Hinata's lack of serving skills,but notices that Hinata possesses the ability to see blockers in slow motion. Statistics Hoshiumi is an amazing all-rounder, excellent at serving, receiving, setting, blocking, and spiking. He's able to jump high and get past blockers who are a lot taller than him using a unique running approach; he bends and twists his legs inwards, resulting in a high vertical jump, which helps him perform an impressive endline shot. He has also been shown doing wipes and feints. Eikichi Chigaya, during the All-Japan Youth Intensive Training Camp, remarked that Hoshiumi gives off a "Small Giant" vibe, based on his height and his jumping power; a commentator at Hoshiumi's first game at the Spring High tournament also dubbed him the Small Giant. Hoshiumi is also able to do a jump serve. Jumping Reach: 342 cm Relationships Tobio Kageyama They were both invited to the All-Japan Youth Intensive Training Camp. Hoshiumi seemed to dislike Kageyama because the first year wasn't impressed by his abilities and had admitted to it when Hoshiumi questioned him. However, when they met at nationals, they greeted each other and seemed to be on good terms. Trivia * According to Kageyama, he jumps higher than Hinata. * Favorite food: Kappa Ebisen Plum Flavor * Current concern: The number of people who are underestimating him is decreasing. *'Nomenclature': **Kōrai (光来) - Incoming Light **Hoshiumi (星海) - Star Ocean Quotes * "...everyone who underestimates me because of my height, they're almost always left with their mouths wide open and tongues hanging out when they see my plays! That's a streak that's never been broken!" (To Kageyama, Chapter 215) *''"Being small in volleyball may well be a disadvantage, but it does not automatically imply incompetence or ineptitude!"'' (Chapter 245) *''"I've known the fact that I am weak, since long, long ago."'' (Chapter 343) References }} Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Wing Spikers Category:2nd Year Category:Kamomedai High Volleyball Club